A shoulder rest is an accessory device that can be attached to a violin or viola. Typically, the shoulder rest has fork-shaped clamping members or “feet” for detachably mounting the shoulder rest to the sides of the back of the violin or viola. The shoulder rest spaces the instrument at a comfortable height for the musician. The shoulder rest may have a body profile that generally conforms to the natural curves of the human shoulder and clavicle.
To accommodate both instruments of different sizes and musicians' body structures and posture preferences, some shoulder rests are adjustable in height and distance between the fork-shaped clamping members.
Some examples of adjustable shoulder rests are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,270,474 (Kun) entitled “Violin or the Like Shoulder Rest”, U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,226 (Kun) entitled “Violin Shoulder Rest”, U.S. Pat. No. 5,567,893 (Kun) entitled “Shoulder Rest for Violin or Like Instrument”, U.S. Pat. No. 6,031,163 (Cullum et al.) entitled “Adjustable Shoulder Rest for Violins or the Like”, U.S. Pat. No. 7,265,284 (Muir et al) entitled “Violin or the Like Instrument” which are all incorporated herein by reference.
To permit more compact storage, some shoulder rests are foldable (or “collapsible”) such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,731,531 (Kun) entitled “Shoulder Rest for Violin or Like Instrument” which is incorporated herein by reference.
The body or bridge of the shoulder rest may be made of different materials such as polymers, composite materials, metals, or woods. U.S. Pat. No. 6,291,750 (Farha) entitled “Bridge for a Violin or Viola Shoulder Rest”, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a body or bridge made of a laminate that includes a plurality of wood veneers.
Other improvements in shoulder rest ergonomics are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,385,124 (Clemente) entitled “Clamping Member for a Violin Shoulder Rest” which is incorporated herein by reference.
Although adjustable and foldable shoulder rests are known in the art, further improvements in adjustability and ergonomics remain highly desirable.